


Disengage, Reengage

by idrilhadhafang



Category: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst with a Happy Ending, Community: trope_bingo, Fix Fic, Gen, Implied Torture, Mind Control, Psychological Torture, Take That - Freeform, Torture, aligned-but-not-dark-side!Revan, angst with an ambiguously happy ending, biting the hand humor, heavy meta, kotor ii references, mentions of torture, patchwork fic, questionably dark side!revan, questionably redeemed!Malak, revan + malak, revan makes fun of malak, revan takes bastila's place, rusty writing skills, you comply and i won't hurt your friends torture method
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-12
Updated: 2013-01-12
Packaged: 2017-11-25 06:43:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/636190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Malak doesn't have to rely on the Force to make Revan obey him. Not when there are other ways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Disengage, Reengage

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own KOTOR. 
> 
> Author's Notes: Started off as an ordinary "Chain of Command"-esque story before morphing into...I don't know what. Hope it's good at any rate. Also special thanks to barsukthom for the "gang of minions" thing.

He didn't have to use any Force tricks if only to make Revan obey.  
  
Granted, that was not necessarily what Revan called himself now. Even as he tried to say things like, "I'm not Revan, I'm Gann Thracin", Darth Malak knew more than anything else, it was a lie. Because if nothing else, Revan could not escape his destiny. He would serve Malak as his new apprentice, as he was made to do.  
  
Malak had, long ago, deferred to being no more than Revan's apprentice. But if nothing else, he was more worthy of being the Master, not Revan. Revan was weak. He refused to see what was directly in front of him; for example, the matter of the Star Forge not just being a factory for ships and such, but if nothing else, almost like a living creature. A bastion of the Dark Side.   
  
Long ago, he would have followed Revan to death and beyond. But that was different now. Especially in regards to the fact that, if nothing else, Revan seemed to want nothing to do with him.   
  
Revan would do what he asked, if only willingly -- Malak had allowed his friends to be spared if Revan acquiesced to him. And Revan had done this -- Revan always had this tendency to play the hero. But if nothing else, Malak thought, this Revan was different. Far different. Because if nothing else, the Revan he knew would have fought to the end. But this...this Revan seemed so broken. So shattered. So utterly willing to comply as long as Mission Vao and the others weren't harmed.  
  
And if nothing else, that was enough to frustrate Malak. Because if nothing else, Revan was supposed to fight back. That was who he was. That was who they, as Jedi and Sith, as former Master and Apprentice, were.  
  
If nothing else, Malak had finally gotten ahold of Revan. But Bastila and the others had managed to escape. And that...that, Malak could not allow.   
  
***  
  
Malak didn't have to resort to Force tricks if only to keep Gann in line.  
  
If nothing else, Gann mused darkly, he would have almost preferred something like that. Anything was preferable to trying to convince him, at least figuratively, that two plus two was six...or five. Because if nothing else, that's what they were doing, at least at their basics. That and the fact that Bastila and the others were out there. Malak would let loose some tidbits of information if only to keep Gann in line -- that his crew was now on Korriban, that they were now under Sith mercy. Gann had to fight back a smirk; if nothing else, Bastila and Mission and Juhani and Jolee and Carth and the others would never submit to the matter of "Sith mercy". If "Sith mercy" was really the word for it; if nothing else, the Sith weren't exactly inclined to show mercy.  
  
He found his ways to fight back, really. Refusing food, for one thing. Not talking with Malak. Not helped by the fact, if nothing else, Malak would not stop wanting to talk to him. Almost as if he wanted to reconnect with the matter of the past. Almost as if he wanted to believe that Gann would join him again.  
  
That was a lie, of course. Gann severely doubted that Malak wanted anything to do with him. If nothing else, all Malak wanted was power. If he wanted anything else, Gann doubted that he saw it.  
  
So he didn't try to escape, if only for Bastila and the others' sakes. But he, if nothing else, tried to find small ways to resist. If only also for their sakes.  
  
***  
  
It wasn't what Malak would have preferred. If nothing else, Malak preferred hands-on work, preferred to, if nothing else, handle the matter of prisoners with his own hands, with a sort of upfront approach. But at the same time, he supposed that it was the best that he could do, considering the circumstances. Still, he couldn't say that he trusted the people who had come up with this.   
  
"Are you certain it is so reliable?" he said to his medic -- at least, medic was a loose way to put it. But at the very least, the person who was in charge of administering the drugs. Sedatives, for example. And, if nothing else, truth serums.   
  
Because it was the fifth day of this, if nothing else. He had received word of the crew of the EBON HAWK heading towards Sleheyron, but if nothing else, he could not be certain of it. At the very least, he could get news out of his former Master as to where they were heading.  
  
***  
  
Gann should have suspected that something was at least somewhat wrong when Malak entered his cell surrounded by his gang of minions. Well, okay, that was nothing new. What was new, however, was the matter that one of them was holding a syringe. Gann couldn't say that he was afraid of needles -- at the very least, they hurt, but they weren't the things of nightmares -- but already, something in him was suspecting what they would do. Lethal injection? No, they still needed him. And if nothing else, Malak was not the type who would simply kill people. If he tried to walk in a straight line, Gann mused, he would probably get dizzy.  
  
It wasn't the matter of Malak being stupid; if nothing else, he was pretty smart. But if nothing else, if there was something that Gann had learned from the matter of Malak pursuing them, it was the fact that Malak never settled for doing things the smart way. He always had to do something to screw it up. Sending the same guys after them, for instance. And thinking that torture alone was going to get Gann to comply. And throwing the evil laugh around like there was no tomorrow.  
  
"Good morning, Your Evilness," Gann said, if only sarcastically -- it was a stupid move, but he had to at least do something if only to keep himself sane. Even if it meant acting like an idiot. "What have you got in store for me this time?"  
  
Malak ignored him, instead turning to his...syringe-lady, Gann could only conclude. He had taken to calling her "Vanessa" in his head -- another thing to at least keep himself sane. He took the syringe from Vanessa's hands. "Leave us."   
  
"Are you certain, my Lord?"  
  
"I am," Malak said -- not unkindly, at least.   
  
The Dark Jedi left. Malak turned to look at Revan long after his posse had mercifully retreated.  
  
"You know it's not awfully smart to keep your minions out of sight," Gann said.  
  
Malak raised an eyebrow. "You really believe that you can sustain humor in this situation, Revan?"  
  
Gann shrugged. "It's better than nothing. Besides, you've never watched those old holovids? You're pretty much making the mistake of every villain in those holovids to date. Evil gloating, monologuing -- all that's missing is a mustache to twirl."  
  
"I don't need one, Revan."  
  
"Too obvious, I'm guessing?"  
  
Malak ignored him. "I did not wish to resort to this," he said, holding up the syringe, "But I'm afraid that I have no choice. You have proven quite resistant."  
  
Gann snorted. "Yeah, well, if you think that I'm joining someone like you, you're wrong."   
  
Malak seemed almost thoughtful. "Do you remember when we grew up on Dantooine together, Revan?"  
  
Something in it caught Gann off-guard. "Not...not very well," he said. If nothing else, he doubted that he knew what it was like.   
  
Malak closed his eyes, shook his head. If it was possible to look any more pitiful on Malak's part, Gann doubted it. "Then listen to me."   
  
"What?"  
  
It was then that Malak took Gann's head in between his hands. There was something now in that mechanical voice that was enough to frighten Gann. "Listen."  
  
Their heads pressed together. And it was then that Gann saw. The Mandalorian Wars -- so many planets burning. So many people lost. Malachor, with that Mass Shadow Generator set off. Malak, wanting to kill his General, Arawn Sinn -- the idea of wanting to kill someone who was once their best friend was almost too much for Gann. If nothing else, the more images washed up, the more Gann wanted to pull away, but Malak's fingers were pressing into his temples so hard it hurt --  
  
Finally, Gann drew away. "This -- this -- they kept all of this from me."  
  
Malak's voice was quieter now. "Yes. They did."  
  
"But why?"  
  
"Fear, of course." Malak's voice now sounded like the tolling of a requiem. And it was in that moment that Gann realized that, if nothing else, behind those eyes was not a monster, but a very broken man.   
  
Gann shook his head. "I couldn't have done this. I -- this wasn't me."  
  
" _We_ did this," Malak said, sounding, for all the worlds, furious. "All of this -- we did this. It's what we do -- more than that. It's who we are."  
  
"Maybe it is the case for you," Gann said, "But..." He bit his lip. "I'm not like you. I have friends who love me -- ''  
  
There was something in Malak's eyes that seemed, suddenly, very vulnerable. Gann cleared his throat; best to start over, at least. "I mean," he said, "I have...people to care for. People to stop me. If not for them....who do you have, Malak? I mean, you have minions. You have people to carry out your deeds."  
  
"These are my followers, Revan. My soldiers."  
  
"You had soldiers once," Gann said. "People you cared for deeply. We both did. I..." He sighed. "We can't undo Malachor V, even though Force knows I wish we could. And you can't undo Taris or Dantooine -- but at least we can try and atone for what we've done."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Don't you want to find her, Malak?" Gann said. "Arawn? Don't you want to know where she's gone? Don't you want to put things right?"  
  
Malak seemed so vulnerable in that moment, Gann mused. So very alone. Then, "Yes. I suppose I do."  
  
"Then you must set me free."  
  
"Give me a reason to."  
  
"Because we're on the same side," Gann said. "Aren't we?"  
  
Malak tilted his head almost as if in curiosity.  
  
"Just to find her, Malak," Gann said. "Just to set things right."  
  
Silence.  
  
Very well.  
  
***  
  
It was later that Malak gave the orders to set course for the Unknown Regions. He knew full well that the soldiers would not agree; after all, did they not have a duty to protect the Star Forge? And yet at the same time, they were more than mistaken. If nothing else, they were not abandoning the Star Forge. They were continuing to assist the matter of their mission.   
  
They would find Arawn Sinn. And together, they would set things as they should be.   
  
And no power in the galaxy would be able to stop them.


End file.
